Total Life Changes shipping delays acceptable?

Over the last few weeks I’ve seen a noticeable increase in Total Life Changes customers and affiliates complaining about ongoing shipping delays.

TLC affiliates have been quick to respond to the issue, as they’ve no doubt been bearing the brunt of complaints from customers. But by and large these responses have been dismissive.

So what’s the story and why is this an ongoing issue?

Problems appear to have first began to surface early last month, with complaints from customers revealing similar experiences:

I HAVE PLACED AN ORDER SINCE FEBRUARY 10 AND ITS ALREADY MARH 3 AND NOTHING!!

THEY ARE GOING TO GET THEIR BUTT IN PROBLEMS!! BIG PROBLEMS!

Thus far responses from TLC affiliates to the concerns have cited issues with growth and a machine breaking down, as TLC affiliate “David” explained on March 5th:

For those bellyaching of delayed shipments, you need to take that up with the person you ordered your products from.

This has been a known thing since Dec due to the biggest growth in one month then the company has every seen since it started to do business as an mlm…on top of one main machine that packages the tea had broke down and have been playing catch up.

Anywho, once some legal stuff dealing with a new manufacturer, everything will go back to being 3-5 days shipment for the tea.

They are short staffed plain and simple. We are informed if products are not available or if there is a shortage in which i just mentioned.

Yet here we are a few weeks later and by all accounts the issue has still not been resolved.

As part of my own research, I went to the Total Life Changes website to see if there was any mention of delays.

What I found was the following message clearly highlighted in the company’s online storefront:

:: PLEASE BE ADVISED :: Due to the high demand for Iaso™ Tea all orders containing Iaso™ Tea are being delivered within 21 business days.

A machine breaks down? Get it fixed immediately and get back on track within a few days.

It’s not rocket science.

One interesting point I couldn’t find any information on the Total Life Changes website was that of legal troubles between the company and it’s supplier.

David touched on it above, with a video I found on one TLC affiliate’s website elaborating a little further:

[0:37] TLC is doing everything possible to fulfill all of the orders and get back on track by increasing the amount of tea produced.

The increase of production is not that easy because of the manufacturer (sic) current limits, and until legal matters are put in place an additional manufacturer cannot start producing yet but will start very soon.

That video however was uploaded to YouTube on February 26th… and still there are massive delays with TLC Iaso Tea orders.

Props to the TLC affiliate who at least bothered to make the video, whereas other affiliates appear to have failed to advise their customers of the delays altogether. Presumably this was before TLC attached the shipping delays warning to the Iaso product listings on their website.

In any event those who are sick of waiting have been advised to contact TLC for a refund, but even this has proved to be a challenge.

One TLC customer writes,

Where’s my money? I requested a refund several times, with NO REPLY. And why is it impossible to get anyone on the phone?

Another,

I place an order on feb 4 of 2015 and I never received a confirmation number of my order but my card was charge the same day…..

I still have not receive my order or my refund they said it will take 5-7 bussiness days but its been a month already!

And another still,

i called on the 9 th and asked for a refund. Today is march 18th and after calling amd calling getting hung up on and lied too . i still havent received my damn money. Smdh

And on and on it goes.

Compounding the problem is the issue of customers and affiliates being unable to contact TLC directly.

I placed an order about 2 weeks ago and now can’t get anyone on the phone to track the shipment! ! The line is consistently busy no matter the tI’m or day!!

Same thing happened with me…phone is always busy, but I have something for they ass, I’m about to dispute this shit with my bank.

Include me in as well. I placed my order a month ago, they can take my money but not return an email or answer the phone. And I don’t want to hear how their so backed up, that’s just bad business.

Here was TLC affiliate David’s response to the issue:

TLC is merely a distributor/supplier. That’s why it’s not on the site. They aren’t like a Walmart or another business who deals directly with customers. We do.

An MLM company who takes orders for products but refuses to deal with customers, even when there are lengthy shipping delays occurring? Seriously?

My take on the issue is that simply put, if you don’t have the product in stock then you shouldn’t be taking orders.

These ongoing delays have been dragging on for almost two months now with no end in sight. No developments are being communicated to affected customers from TLC corporate and people are being told to request refunds but are unable to do so… because TLC “doesn’t deal with customers”.

The only instance I found of TLC management publicly addressing the issue, was in a blog post from CEO Jack Fallon dated February 24th:

Jack here. Checking in from Korea.

I want to let everyone know I’m thinking of our entire sales force and what a fantastic job you are doing. Your patience and understanding is truly appreciated.

We have had tremendous growth in the past two months, so much so that we hit 185% growth company wide. This is a bit of a shock to all of us at corporate, but we are fulfilling tea orders as quickly as possible.

I do understand there are a lot of questions and concerns regarding the time it is taking to fill some of these orders. We are working extremely hard to get the product in your hands as quickly as we can get our supply replenished in our warehouse.

Because of this growth we are doubling the number of associates in our customer service department and support centers.

We will also be implementing new software very soon to provide a greater experience for all customers and TLC reps.

Our phone lines have not stopped ringing in weeks, and once all of the phone lines are in use there is no way to get thru.

I am working to remedy this as quickly as possible by changing the infrastructure of our phone system and adding dozens of additional lines.

Meanwhile TLC’s reputation is tanking, and if they keep this up for much longer I’m not really seeing how they’re going to recover.

Here’s a recent comment from a TLC customer made not even 24 hours ago:

This is very unprofessional — you take your payment right away and your rep lies and tells you 14 business days knowing full well they were backed up when she took my order but never disclosed this information – bad to do business this way..very very very dissatisfied with this company..

1st and last order with this rep or distributor or wgatever she wants to be titled (swindler is more like it)

If anyone from Total Life Changes corporate winds up reading this, feel free to leave a comment below explaining what exactly is going on, what you’re doing to rectify the situation and how long that’s going to take.

Elaborating on these legal issues with your supplier would be much appreciated to. Obviously some information is being circulated among top affiliates but if you’re not in the elite TLC affiliate clubs, evidently you’re in the dark.

Meanwhile your customers are coming here for answers and to share their experiences, and I honestly don’t know what to tell them.

It looks pretty bad from the outside, so hopefully someone over at TLC corporate will come on here and provide some answers for those affected.

I just found this blog concerning the delays in delivery times and the lack of customer support from TLC. I am the VP of Marketing and Design for TLC in our Michigan headquarters.

We have been very upfront with our distributors and our customers. We have announced that customers should not combine any orders with our Iaso™ Tea, which is the product that we have been experiencing the difficulty with in terms of supply and demand.

All other products are available and are shipped within 3-5 business days, just as the tea did for many years.

The biggest proponent of this dilemma is our company growth in North America.

We we fortunate enough to attract three powerful and seasoned network marketers from another company and they have attracted over 60, 000 new representatives in just 15 months. We are now attracting over 5,000 new representatives per week.

This has put a strain on our ability to fill orders.

The information in this post is quite accurate. We did have a machine failures at our largest distributor. It was repaired and we continued to process orders.

We had further set backs securing additional distributors because the Iaso™ Tea is a proprietary blend, so protecting the integrity and the quality of the product is of course our main concern.

Additionally, the extreme weather in February in the southeast of the United States caused distributors to shut down for days, which slowed production and stopped timely deliveries.

I’m not intending to make excuses. We have been very upfront with the difficulty in filling orders.

All of his video footage has been posted on our corporate Facebook page and has been shared on our official YouTube page as well. We are not hiding the fact that we are bursting at the seams.

The actions that have been taken so far would include securing two additional distributors to complete our Tea shortage, we have invested over $25K in Customer Service software (ZenDesk), we have upgraded the infrastructure of our phone system, but it is just not working properly. That is the truth.

We field inquiries by the minute and we understand the frustration and strain that this places on our field reps.

We continue to hire consultants and technicians to test our bandwidth and repair/replace our telephone hardware. We are fighting an uphill battle as some of these solutions have worked immediately, while others have led to further problems.

We are expecting an increase in customer service via ZenDesk as our agents get trained on implementing this software to field calls and emails.

We are also getting quotes from Call Centers to help us field calls so that our clients will no longer have to wait on hold or listen to a busy signal.

Our CEO Jack Fallon and COO will be visiting what we anticipate to be our new facility. There was some water damage due to pipes that burst during that stretch of cold weather here in Michigan.

So, nothing has come easy for us since the start of the year. We went from touting the fact that we were experiencing tremendous growth in sales and new affiliates, only to be punched in the face with problems from our distributors, problems with our infrastructure at our Michigan headquarters and good ‘ol mother nature kicking us when we were down.

Well, I’m here to state that we are getting up; a bit slower that we anticipated, but we are getting back on our feet and we are going to work tirelessly to turn all of these problems around and get our distributors what they need in a timely manner; to retain their customers and attract new business partners.

I can be reached directly with additional questions or concerns. Just please “be nice” and I will do what I can to assist you with any questions or concerns.

We we fortunate enough to attract three powerful and seasoned network marketers from another company and they have attracted over 60, 000 new representatives in just 15 months. We are now attracting over 5,000 new representatives per week—scott bania

if 60,000 reps joined in 15 months, that would have been the time to prepare strategy for the future.

this rate of growth is very worrying. corporate seems unprepared/inexperienced to handle this. such an extreme Pop, can rapidly disintegrate into a Drop, which in turn can cause a lot of payment problems and demise.

if i were scott bania, i would worry about more than just non installable phone software, and the weather.

Most of the people complaining seemed to be new customers or affiliates. They referred to information found on the website, e.g. “shipment within 5 – 7 business days”. Old customers would have referred to their own experience, e.g. “I have always received the goods within 10 days”.

I wasn’t worried about my order that I placed on March 19th, 2015 until today.

After trying to get in contact with someone on the phone since the 20th to get a tracking number for my order, I have been just a little concerned but now I’m concerned to the point of thinking about contacting my bank and dispute the transaction.

When I placed the order online, I did not receive a tracking number or an email saying when my order would be shipped and when it should arrive.

Yes, TLC did take the money instantly from my account.

My question is. If you had enough time to instantly take the money from my account, why don’t you have time enough to answer the phone, or send an email on when the order will be shipped and should arrive?

This product is all over facebook. After reading more on this product and the complaints and the problems that the company is having (without customer satisfaction), I think it’s only right that this also gets published on facebook so that no one else will have to face these problems.

I would rather pay more for the product with another company and get proper customer service than to pay a cheaper amount and get bad customer service.

I am letting all my family and friends know, I have told over 100 people about this product when I ordered it. I will now go back and tell those same over 100 people about the service, hopefully too many have not ordered.

If so I’m sure they will dispute the transaction with their bank also. This is so sad!

Deidra:
I wasn’t worried about my order that I placed on March 19th, 2015 until today.

After trying to get in contact with someone on the phone since the 20th to get a tracking number for my order, I have been just a little concerned but now I’m concerned to the point of thinking about contacting my bank and dispute the transaction.

You can try the feedback method first = try to identify the problem as it is, and see if they can offer some solutions?

I looked at the communication in the article in post #7, and was able to see several communication issues. But I’m not sure I identified all of them correctly.

– – – – – –

1. I believe the initial message was a little vague:

PLEASE BE ADVISED :: Due to the high demand for Iaso™ Tea all orders containing Iaso™ Tea are being delivered within 21 business days.

Some people got complete orders delayed for 4 weeks because the tea was delayed from the manufacturer. People will need some clear information about how to avoid that delay.

You probably haven’t been affected by that, but some of the others were.

– – – – – –

Deidra:
When I placed the order online, I did not receive a tracking number or an email saying when my order would be shipped and when it should arrive.

2. You expected to get tracking number or an order confirmation, or some similar type of message from the company. “Similar to what you will get from other companies when you order something online”.

Many of the others seemed to expect the same.

– – – – – –

Deidra:
Yes, TLC did take the money instantly from my account.

3. I don’t think people expected an immediate credit card charge the same day they have ordered something?

We expect it when we pay for something with immediate delivery, e.g. downloadable products. We expect it when we have agreed to a solution like that. We don’t expect it when the product first will be sent 2 weeks later.

– – – – – –

4. The company have some telephone problems / customer support problems. They can’t offer a quick fix to that problem, so I focused on “Order Status” or similar type of “self help”.

– – – – – –

I identified most of those “communication issues” from the article.

Deidra:
I am letting all my family and friends know, I have told over 100 people about this product when I ordered it. I will now go back and tell those same over 100 people about the service, hopefully too many have not ordered.

I called it “communication issues”, e.g. the immediate credit card charge is a type of communication. It sends out some “wrong signals” about being very interested in your money and less interested in the information you need as a customer.

I have been in MLM for 20+ years and been in the corporate side in many top MLM companies (Zrii, 4Life, Gano Excel, Unicity)

Well there ya have it folks. Perfect example. Some people consider this “experience” or “success”.

I consider it, never quite learning how to pick a winner or create residual income. My suggestion, as usual is to take your residual income advice from someone who has actually had some success in creating one. 🙂

Carlos Q:
I have been in MLM for 20+ years and been in the corporate side in many top MLM companies (Zrii, 4Life, Gano Excel, Unicity) and in all companies we experience shortness in stock at times.

I’m confident this will be resolved soon.

It probably will be resolved, “within reasonable time”.

* machine failures = resolved, but the delays will probably continue for several weeks.

* additional manpower will probably work.

* etc. (software and other solutions)

That’s the technical side of the problem. It has probably been caused by a too onesided focus in the organization. Someone was probably too busy doing promotional work while he should have kept an eye on a different part of the business.

Diedra: I’ve heard there is another company that you can get this same tea from at the same price

Fact is you can probably get the SAME tea for a LOWER price, albeit just not in the same packaging.

It’s widely know that most of the “gano” products are sourced from one company in Malaysia called DXN, who also sells their own brand. So whatever tea this company’s selling, there’s a source. You just need to find it.

Common Sense:
I consider it, never quite learning how to pick a winner or create residual income. My suggestion, as usual is to take your residual income advice from someone who has actually had some success in creating one.

TLC is probably “faking it”.

Almost everyone seems to start posts with something about “tremendous growth”, but when I try to check it online (Alexa, etc.) I can only find that the same types of arguments have been repeated over and over again from April 2014.

BUSINESS FOR HOME

It had “tremendous growth” in September 2014.

The greatest growth of the company occurred just five years ago when CEO Jack Fallon shared his vision with Master Distributer, Armand Puyolt. Together, they laid the foundation for growth and within 4 years they expanded across all of South America, Asia, Korea, Africa, Europe and Canada. Total Life Changes now has offices in over 15 countries.

– – – – – –

It is this same group of visionaries that have lit a fire across the United States and are responsible for signing up over 500 new TLC affiliates on a weekly basis for two consecutive months. This new growth coupled with the continued growth in South America and beyond led to record sales in July 2014.

Like you I looked at Alexa chart and they were almost up to current level in the Summer of the last year. So assuming that their sales did not disappeared completely all of a sudden, real upshot in sales/membership could have started in November or December.

Alexa does not give you precision or timely free info, just estimated website visiting levels for a period of time. We can only approximate from that.

I honestly see the idea that do not have enough supply quite possible. Their explanation of machines broke down for month, on other hand, of it is ridiculous.

It is much more plausible that they reserved certain amount of supply and now their supplier wants them to pay higher prices for additional tea or they are renegotiating prices altogether.

Now they are squeezed between top marketers who want their cut now and do not want sale stoppage and manufacturers who want them to pay higher prices.

With zero customer support (cutting corners) they chose to do stupid proverbial “head in a sand” thing hoping that problems would solve themselves sometimes and people will be patient. Not going to happen.

It is not out real of possibilities with any business that takes money but gives no customer support that something sinister could be going on.

This second I do not see it as a top option yet. The longer current situation continues, the more likely it becomes.

Kathryn Ray:
They would not have nearly the problems with complaints that they are having if they:

1. Didn’t charge credit cards until the product shipped,

The credit card charge is probably automated, automatically charged by the same software they use to register the orders from customers.

The problem is that it seems to come as a surprise to most customers the first time they order.

When we order something online, we will usually be offered a couple of different payment methods, e.g. to pay immediately by credit card or to receive an invoice. Most merchants will usually offer a couple of different shipment methods too. Customers will need to make decisions about how to pay, a choice between different options.

TLC doesn’t seem to THINK like an online merchant. It doesn’t offer any order confirmation or tracking number, order status, “my account”, “3 day right to cancel the order”, etc.

Boris:
Like you I looked at Alexa chart and they were almost up to current level in the Summer of the last year. So assuming that their sales did not disappeared completely all of a sudden, real upshot in sales/membership could have started in November or December.

I have compared TLC to Rippln. Rippln’s organizers heavily believed in some “talk it into existence” ideas, e.g. “if we focus on ‘tremendous growth’ then growth will come”.

Rippln failed to follow up with any “substance”, e.g. it didn’t have its main product in place, the product people actually could be interested in.

Common Sense:
To think that delays in shipping, in the case of TLC, is simply a supply and demand problem is completely rediculous. There is FAR more to it than that.

You’re probably right about most of it.

I have only looked at the most current problem. Most of the complaints were from consumers ordering products online. They focused on how they had experienced the problem themselves.

I tried to identify it from that specific perspective, i.e. customers will not immediately assume “poor and inexperienced management” or the other reasons you listed.

They will see the problem differently, e.g. “I was never informed about a 21 days delay in shipment or the immediate credit card charge! I haven’t received the product I ordered, and the company doesn’t respond to any refund requests”.

The management probably has experience from a different type of business, e.g. from selling income opportunities based on downloadable material.

M_Norway:
I believe the problem may be related to that TLC is a network marketing “company” (not fully organized as a company).

I didn’t fully explain that idea …

Network marketing revolves around very specific ideas, e.g. the idea that people primarily will be interested in the chance to earn an income and “become successful”.

NWM companies believe it will be much easier to sell a product if they can offer the product bundled with an opportunity, the idea that “people will recommend our product to family and friends if we offer them some money for doing it”. So they will focus on having a system where people can be rewarded for recommending the product to other consumers.

The opposite idea is called “brick and mortar” = traditional merchants selling goods or services to consumers (without any attached opportunity). Brick and mortar merchants believe it will be much easier to sell a product if they can offer other types of “rewards” (e.g. “shipment within 24 hours”).

Most online shops will be based on the brick and mortar idea. Most consumers will only be interested in the product itself (quality, price, design, etc.).

That’s up to you, but I’d say do both: write to the company certified mail include copies of receipt and $ charged and so on. And demand either a refund within 5 business days… or the product, upon their receipt of the letter.

Else, you’ll file a dispute with the credit card company, within 24 hours after 5 business day expired.

M_Norway: Most online shops will be based on the brick and mortar idea

Online shops are the antithesis of bricks and mortar shops.

DEFINITION OF ‘BRICK AND MORTAR’:

A traditional “street-side” business that deals with its customers face to face in an office or store that the business owns or rents. The local grocery store and the corner bank are examples of “brick and mortar” companies.

Brick and mortar businesses can find it difficult to compete with web-based businesses because the latter usually have lower operating costs and greater flexibility.

I really should know better than to get involved in an MLM.I didn’t think I was really getting involved, I didn’t sign up to be a distributor.I just want to lose 10 lbs.

First, these teas are fake. They may have put some appetite suppressor in there to make it plausible for short period of time.

I personally lost 10 lbs since New Year. Nothing special. I eat 5 times less bread, 3 times less candy and way less sugary drinks than before.

Weight just fell off. If I had mental control over myself I would have made even better regular diet and would have started exercising. This way I could have lost way more, but I am not mentally ready for it yet.

First, these teas are fake. They may have put some appetite suppressor in there to make it plausible for short period of time—–boris

tea has been consumed in asian countries for centuries, and is said to have many health benefits. many natural products have health benefits, such as garlic, ginger, turmeric, neem , cloves etc. as long as they are not sold as ‘medicinal’ but merely ‘beneficial’, they cannot be steamrolled as ‘fake’.

Tea is calorie-free. Tea doesn’t have any calories, unless you add sweetener or milk. Consuming even 250 fewer calories per day can result in losing one pound per week.

If you’re looking for a satisfying, calorie-free beverage, tea is a top choice.

not just MLM, even traditional tea selling companies advertise on public mediums like TV/radio/print, about the beneficial properties of their teas, which includes weightloss. so, this is at least, not just an ‘MLM thing’

tea is good for immunity, metabolism, hydration, bones, and some of these claims are based on actual long term studies:

anjali: tea has been consumed in asian countries for centuries, and is said to have many health benefits. many natural products have health benefits, such as garlic, ginger, turmeric, neem , cloves etc. as long as they are not sold as ‘medicinal’ but merely ‘beneficial’, they cannot be steamrolled as ‘fake’.

I was not clear. Teas are fake if you consider claims attributed to them in this case such as weight loss and detoxification. It is just not true.

Also, not all natural products are widely believed to be beneficial are so. In the same Asian countries, tusks, bones, skins and meats of rarest of animals are considered to have miraculous healing powers.

They are not healing people. They are moving rare animals closer to extinction.

tea has antioxidants which play a major role in the detoxification process.

again, i stress, that these effects are not ‘magical’ but may have effects, which are noticeable in the long term. still, blanket statements of ‘fake’ may be a bit too far.

about beneficial properties of tusks bones etc, there are no studies, to my knowledge, that prove/disprove them. even if they have some benefits, they cannot be worthy enough, to cause extinction of rare species, that goes without saying.

but animal extracts are used in hormone therapy treatments, vaccines and a host of other health related issues. so we cannot steamroll this segment either, as ‘fake’.

In the same Asian countries, tusks, bones, skins and meats of rarest of animals are considered to have miraculous healing powers—boris

we have to remember that ideas, such a medicinal properties of animal parts, are ancient ideas. hunting and killing for meat, skin, medicinal use, were all the rage then. there were plenty of animals around to be killed. PETA didn’t exist.

of course, today ethics have changed, and availability of animals for killing, has reduced. this does not make the past wrong, or the present correct, it’s just ‘changing times’.

If you are part of the generation to whom weasel words are acceptable, fine. Otherwise the claims are fake—- LRM

if you are part of the generation to whom cynicism fits like a glove, read this from ‘medical news today’ :

…now, 12 new articles from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition show that tea may indeed be a magical elixir, as it was shown to promote weight loss, prevent chronic illnesses and improve mood.

One study shows that subjects who consumed green tea and caffeine lost an average of 2.9 pounds over 12 weeks, all while maintaining their normal diet. [One study shows that subjects who consumed green tea and caffeine lost an average of 2.9 pounds over 12 weeks, all while maintaining their normal diet. [nov 2013]

as for people drinking only water, Normal People may want a small dash of excitement in their diet, and actually consider drinking something else also! the buzzphrase here is ‘normal people’.

IASO Tea is like a white tea, a green tea, a weight loss tea, and a great-tasting herbal tea – all wrapped up in each unbleached tea bag.

But, most of all, Dr. Miller’s IASO Tea is a healing tea. Remarkable things happen when you drink IASO Tea every day (watch the video now).

It is gentle, yet surprisingly powerful as a colon cleanse, parasite cleanse, Candida cleanse, blood purifier, and whole body detox. It acts like a general health tonic and a home remedy for many ailments like the ones mentioned below.

Greatly aids with irregularity and constipation, safe for small children, seniors and handicapped individuals

Improves digestion and absorption of nutrients

Takes inches off the belly and reduces fat everywhere

Provides refreshing energy to enjoy life more, even for those with Fibromyalgia!

Restores mental clarity and improves memory diminished by too many toxins in the blood

Provides relief from allergies and hay fever

Cleans out pharmaceutical or recreational drug residues and heavy metals

Helps to keep the colon, kidneys, liver, and lungs healthier and cleaner

It [iaso/laso] is gentle, yet surprisingly powerful as a colon cleanse, parasite cleanse, Candida cleanse, blood purifier, and whole body detox. It acts like a general health tonic and a home remedy for many ailments like the ones mentioned below..——-LRM

if dr miller and TLC talk up their products to the stratosphere, that does not lessen the natural benefits of tea. it just means that dr miller and TLC are being jerks.

if they are using some additives like appetite suppressors etc, the FDA should step in. why blame tea?

-added ingredients like methylcellulose, psyllium, and agar are often added because they produce a sense of fullness in the gastrointestinal tract, thus suppressing appetite.

-people may experience temporary weight loss when drinking these teas, because they rid the body of excess water.

if laso tea is giving incredible short term results, instead of long term results, i bet it has ingredients not mentioned on the label, and this is because use of these ‘not mentioned’ ingredients can have side effects, and cause harm in the long term.

Next time your mother / sister / elderly relative / niece is infected with an intestinal parasite or candida or is diagnosed with heavy metal poisoning or constipation just remember, it’s not serious, all they have to do is drink laso tea.

As for me, I’ll just continue to believe they are all potentially serious conditions and no amount of spin doctoring or weasel words claiming a tea is able to cure or even aid in a cure is justifiable.

Next time your mother / sister / elderly relative / niece is infected with an intestinal parasite or candida or is diagnosed with heavy metal poisoning or constipation just remember, it’s not serious, all they have to do is drink laso tea—LRM

ha. i would never give them laso tea. i would give them a nice cup of good quality [darjeeling] tea, and pack them off to the doctor.

Only if you think it’s only “silly” and not dangerous that the makers of laso tea can make outrageous statements as to the efficacy of their product in dealing with potentially life threatening and certainly dangerous conditions.

Only if you think it’s only “silly” and not dangerous that the makers of laso tea can make outrageous statements as to the efficacy of their product in dealing with potentially life threatening and certainly dangerous conditions—LRM

when did i ‘bless’ laso tea, or stand testament to their ‘efficacy’?

natural organic products can have benefits, but cannot ‘deal with’ or ‘cure’ any serious illnesses.

this does not mean natural products DON’T have some benefits from long term usage.

is your world ‘black and white’, do you understand ‘spectrum’?

using natural products is kosher, but if you have an illness ask you doctor. what is ‘difficult’ about accepting this position?

Ok guys come down. From ingredients we clearly see they do not have actual tea in them, but some natural laxatives and appetite suppressors. Surprise, surprise.

In truth, this Lasso tea is a health supplement. And health supplements are trouble.

I read somewhere about recent study that 35% of health supplements(excluding vitamins) on the market do not have any advertised ingredients at all and another 35% have really wrong dosage. You can be taking health supplements at your own risk.

tea has antioxidants which play a major role in the detoxification process.

again, i stress, that these effects are not ‘magical’ but may have effects, which are noticeable in the long term. still, blanket statements of ‘fake’ may be a bit too far.

These effects are not magical or they may not exist at all. Then researches want to find people who live longer and have better health, they find that one ingredient does not change anything.

Healthiest and longer living people almost always live by the sea/ocean, they live in small/medium size communities, they have relatively stress free life, they grow/hunt/fish their own food and they use very little chemicals.

Foods sources change drastically as each one community has its own ecosystem.

Hoping that just by drinking tea you will get healthier is unrealistic. It has to be the who bunch of changes to make noticeable difference.

see, using personal results, as a general consensus, is just streecchiing.

I did not use personal insults against you. When I said tea is fake, I meant Lasso Tea is fake or MLM hyped tea is fake as that what we are discussing. I sometimes wright without double checking myself, so please read my words in context of discussion.

I do not doubt that tea is a relatively healthy food/drink. But it does not have qualities that can change person’s health by itself. And I still think that you are exaggerating a little bit on tea’s benefits.

I used to drink only tea for the half of my life, but I could not stomach any tea I tried without ton of sugar. So, it was trade-of: drink water to eat less sugar, but no tea.

Healthiest and longer living people almost always live by the sea/ocean, they live in small/medium size communities, they have relatively stress free life, they grow/hunt/fish their own food and they use very little chemicals—boris

what an idealistic picture you have created about life, in a way back simpler society.

BUT, life expectancy has gone UP rather than DOWN, inspite of NOT living by the sea, in a rustic, self supporting, micro economy.

we have evolved, and created medicine, independent of purely organic elements, which are cheaper and mass produced. these medicines are sharply addressed to the illness, instead of the holistic overall ‘goodness’ of natural plants extracts.

i do believe, that we will return to biological natural products, or evolve these biological natural products to serve our needs, for food or medicine, but , now is not the time.

I do not doubt that tea is a relatively healthy food/drink. But it does not have qualities that can change person’s health by itself. And I still think that you are exaggerating a little bit on tea’s benefits—boris

1] no one has said tea can transform any ones health, by itself. compared to other drinks, it’s least ‘harmful’

2] i’m not exaggerating anything. since american studies are the equivalent of a scientific ‘mecca’, i just posted a study of the ‘american journal of clinical nutrition’. if a bulgarian/swaziland, study is more acceptable, i’ll try to find one.

3] asian countries, for centuries have known the benefits of tea. the knowledge was always there, the proof is being realized now.

Probably several ways, e.g it can be read in context with the post as a whole, in context with specific parts of the post, in context with specific ideas (e.g. hidden meanings or secret codes). There hasn’t been any disputes about that.

We have derailed completely. Discussing it further will probably add more confusion to it.

K Rayarker:
Spoke with a “customer service” rep. on the phone after holding for 1hr 22min. on a Saturday a.m. recently.

Did you get any meaningful answers?

Or maybe I should say “Did they ask any meaningful questions?”. Customer service will usually need to ask some specific questions to be able to check the status of a specific order, e.g. customer number, order number, etc.

Reps will normally have access to a back office, so they won’t need customer service of the same type.

NOLINK://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm52DzAmcwY

Customers can probably try to “Log in”, to see if TLC have a similar system for customers. TLC use a third party service provider for Shopping Cart, back office and similar services, securefreedom.com.

I have personal knowledge of Jack Fallon and his employment history his entire life was working on an automobile assembly line in Detroit. He has no formal business management experience.

Up until about a year and a half ago TLC was still operating out of Fallon’s home. It is no surprise that someone with no business management experience who has a spike in sales runs into problems.

Fact: It is a merchant processing requirement that if you charge a persons credit card and know you will not ship for two weeks it is mandatory that you send immediate notice to that customer informing them of such and allow them to cancel their order if they like.

TLC at a bare minimum should be doing that or they risk losing their credit card processing abilities.

Fact: regarding people not getting order confirmations after they place order. The system Jack Fallon is using DOES produce automatic order confirmation emails that can display any information the company wants the customer to see.

If people are not getting order confirmation TLC obviousely has intentionally disabled that feature.

Fact: 60,000 reps in the last year and a half? If every one of them placed just one minimum order of $40 and then quit that would have generated $2.4 million in sales.

That’s a lot of money to spend on building infrastructure if you plan on staying in business for the long term.

Fact: 5,000 reps a week? Again at the minimum of a $40 order that is $200K a week in sales.

Why hasen’t the company at the very least contracted with a professional call center company so at least a live operator can try and alleviate some of the customers concerns?

Folks the information being offered by TLC corporate just doesn’t add up.

The core of any successful business is being honest with your customers and completely transparent. Is that TLC?

Up until about a year and a half ago TLC was still operating out of Fallon’s home. It is no surprise that someone with no business management experience who has a spike in sales runs into problems—skittles

well done skittles. nice expose’!

i agree the story about the exponential growth, machinery breakdown, phone software that refuses to get installed, weather woes, call center inefficiencies, are beginning to sound like ‘excuses’ based on some ‘lies’.

are reps being paid regularly? this question could point us in the right direction.

TLC had similar problems in 2013. I did a check limited to the first half of 2013, and found some complaints on Facebook.

Example (March 2013):

MrsBrandy Christina Ross
I haven’t gotten my product and it’s been a month. Either I need a refund or my product. I am going to call the BBB if I don’t hear anything!
– – – – – – – –Demetrious Jordan
MrsBrandy Christina Ross…..did you ever get your product? What was the hold up? Still to this day I havent received mine
– – – – – – – –Zella Johnson
Number goes to busy email don’t work but they took there money
– – – – – – – –Shekelia Patrice Glance
I was done the same way and check your account, because funds was deducted from my account twice.
– – – – – – – –
NOLINK://www.facebook.com/TLCHQ/posts/522934451060714

When I emailed them in regards to this issue…because the phone is clearly out of service, the girl rudely told me her records show I was charged once and she would need my bank statement but never supplied me with a fax number, that was 7 days ago!!!!

So I am out 172.00 not to mention the 70 in overdraft fees it caused me 🙁

the TLC FB page has complaints about the shipping too. here’s a complaint similar to yours posted 12 hrs ago:

Jake Troxell: Ive been a TLC rep for about 7 months now and can say that shipping is horrendous!

I just got my big order finally thank the lord as this is the hardest thing to have patience with as every where else I have ever made an order from they can get me my products asap!

Not a month or two later. I spent $3,000 plus shipping on tea. two $1500 orders and just got my product after 42 days!!! THANK THE LORD! I thought I had lost $3000.

so, this shipping problem is not recent, but has been going on for seven months at least.

42 days for a ‘big order’. ‘bigger orders’ may take precedence over ‘smaller orders’ , i think, so you should have a minimum 42 day wait, at least.

the reps on FB are talking about ‘lose 5lbs in 5 days’, ‘lose 60lbs in a month’.

this is the unhealthiest crap i have read in some time. who wants weight loss like that, and how is it even possible?

beware , godknows what they put in that tea. don’t go by the label, it’s sure to be a lie.

5lbs in 5 days! that should eradicate obesity from the world! right? gym’s will shut down, the medical profession will get downsized, the insurance industry will be dancing to the bank, all due to laso tea. ha and ha.

the reps on FB are talking about ‘lose 5lbs in 5 days’, ‘lose 60lbs in a month’.

‘lose 5lbs in 5 days’ is highly possible. During the cleanse first 5Lbs go fast. Problem is usually starts after the cleanse, when person starts getting really hungry and will gain much more weights back.

‘lose 60lbs in a month’ is also possible under very few circumstances.

Actors lose/gain massive amount of weight for a role in couple of months. But they have team of trainers/nutritionists/cooks that make sure that change will not hurt their clients’ health too much.

Actors do 6-7 hours of exercise a day to reach those goal. They change everything: lifestyle, food, meditation and so on.

To say that just one food can achieve the same result as all this work is plain stupid.

john: You cant tell my friends aunt, who last year was in a wheel chair/bedridden because of her lupus and fibromyalgia,

All those millions of people around the world genuinely suffering with Lupus and fibromyalgia unnecessarily, all those millions of dollars going into research all wasted, when all they have to do is drink laso tea, Eh ???

I’m no fan of Government interference, but damn, where’s the FDA when you need it ???

We are sorry it has taken so long for you to receive your order! We’ve recent experienced an extreme surge in demand for our products. So much so that we could not have anticipated having enough products in stock to satisfy all of the orders.

As a result we have gotten behind on shipping orders. You should know that we are also beefing up our operations to ensure that future orders arrive on time.

Regarding your request to cancel your order that hasn’t been shipped yet: We would like to provide you with some alternative options in the hope that you will remain satisfied with our service and product.

Please consider the below options and chose which one best suits you. We will be happy to honor your request.

First, You may choose to change the item on your order.

Total Life Changes has a product line of 22 effective and exciting products. We have products to help you reach your health goals including weight loss.

We also have amazing skin care products to help you achieve youthful and healthy skin. By ordering our other products instead of the Iaso tea, you can be assured that the new items will be shipped to you right away.

Most shipments arrive in 3-5 business days to arrive in the domestic United States!

Second, we can cancel your order and add a credit to your account. The credit will be applied and available for you to use within 24-48 hours on some of our other super products!

Third, we can cancel your order and issue a refund.

This unfortunately takes longer than we like before your funds are returned to you. Because of the process of transferring your funds back to your bank account your refund could take up to 7-10 business days.

If this is your preference we will certainly be happy to honor it. Your satisfaction is a priority to us.

Please reply to this email to advise us of how you would like to proceed. We will be happy to honor your request.

Yours in Health,
Total Life Changes

After having opted to have my order cancelled, and my Bank Account refunded, I did not hear back from support.

Mysteriouly, just 2 days later I received a priority mail order from the company which included my complete order including the Iaso Tea. You just have to wonder!!!

I have not received my 2nd order place on 5/3/15, I was instructed to not order the tea for it is on extreme back-order…ok. I changed my auto-ship order to include nutraburst and strike-up, NO TEA.

I just checked my back-office and it shows the tea as being my order for auto-ship, which is not what I ordered. I also noted I was charged for my second order which if I remember correctly reflects the price of Nutraburst and strike-up.

I have also tried numerous times to phone the company with no success, from a simple and I mean simpe consumers point of view this is not a very good practice consumers like my self will tell many people about their experience its unfortunate that bad reviews travel faster than good.

Anyway not here to put down a company that appears to be trying to fulfill obligations, I just want my correct 2nd order that has been deducted from my credit card, and then would like to be withdrawn from auto-ship and my affiliation with TLC cancelled.

rose:
I am so embarrassed by this nonsense, My boyfriend is a rep and his reputation is in line here also.

Everyone is thinking this is a scam and now people are looking at us like we’re in on it.

I don’t believe there will be any problem with his personal reputation, but he might lose a few customers. I would have focused on the customers rather than on my own reputation.

That’s the problem and that’s the solution. I don’t see it exactly as you do, e.g. I’m not very worried about personal reputation. My primary focus is business solutions much more than social status.

In business, we will usually get reputation indirectly, e.g. from what we produce and from the solutions we’re able to deliver. We will also get it from personal factors like “service minded” etc., but we will normally NOT focus directly on reputation.

TLC’s reputation has been harmed, and it has been well deserved too. It has been harmed by extremely poor communication and failure to deliver solutions to a problem.

If TLC wishes to improve its reputation, it will need to focus on solutions to the problem rather than focus directly on its own reputation.

Listen, there’s something wrong with this company. Everything was perfect until November – December 2014.

I don’t know what’s really going on but what I know for fact is that TLC owes products to clients (obvious), owes products to reps, the president and vice-president don’t get along (this was public), the CEO don’t take representatives seriously, customer service ignore emails and delete support tickets and seems to hang up phone calls too.

And the big one *TLC owes thousands to their representatives* by using poor excuses (have evidence to most of the mentioned above).

Kathryn Ray:
BTW, my friend who originally got me into this says the tea appears to work initially (water loss?) but doesn’t produce any real or lasting results.

People have probably realized that. But most people are curious and will like to try things anyway, “just to see if they work”. And if many people report positive results then others will be tempted to try it too.

They lied when they said they would refund the back ordered Feb. 2015 auto ship in March but instead 2 weeks later no refund but they shipped the product!

Then in April said they got it back since I marked it REFUSED RETURN TO SENDER and would refund, another lie.

Then in May they said they did refund but finally in June my bank refunded me the $50.62 and YES you can get the tea all over the place and from the stupid Dr. Miller himself so there is nothing exclusive about TLC and I would not buy a darn thing from them ever again!

Liars, incompetents and no one answers the emails but randomly WEEKLY , no way to get them on the phone!! TERRIBLE BUNCH.

In case anyone is contemplating whether or not to try their products out, I suggest don’t & keep your money.

I ordered coffee and drops in march & still have not received anything. I tried calling and no one has ever answered. I left a message and no one has ever called me back. I emailed and they said it would ship the next day.

It is almost the end of July and I still have not received anything. They took over $100 from me and I have not received anything.

Keep your money. This company will LIE to you and STEAL your money.

Also, I have all emails including the one where they said they would ship it the next day, & the one where I asked for a tracking number with no response from anyone.

Something is not right and very fishy about this company.

I’m Going to take this to the news & also take legal action. I have a sister who is a lawyer and a friend who works in the district attorneys office in Washington dc.

I suggest everyone who has been ripped off take this to their local news stations so everyone knows how unprofessional this company is.

yo: Scam pimp Sloan is head of the “whysguys” recruitment scheme for tlc.

looks like faith sloan has moved on from TLC. her recruitment tree must have died out on her, and with people dropping out from autoship.

now shes on a secret mission to earn big bucks, which she will share only via personal messages:

faith sloan, facebook, dec 2015:

I told you that I have been busy on a new project. NOW it is coming to fruition! I can’t publicly say anything about it. I am on an exciting ride.

No more dealing with people not being able to make money in network marketing because they have no money…. No more dealing with people not being able to recruit because they are talking to people with no money … No more high attrition (drop out) rates in network marketing.

it seems like sloan embarks on a exciting recruitment ride on an annual basis. she was raving about TLC’s tea last year, i guess the tea doesn’t work so well for sloan this year.

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